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Zothecula (1870348) writes "Tunisian green energy startup Saphon Energy has created a new bladeless wind turbine which draws inspiration from the design of a ship’s sails, and promises to convert the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity at up to double the efficiency – and half the cost – of a typical wind turbine."Link to Original Source

The wheel drives a cam which actuates multiple cylinders. This eliminates the gearbox because a hydraulic system can provide gearing simply by the ratio of volumes of the driving and driven cylinders. I guess that the issue is going to be supporting the thrust against the wheel, because it is pressure driven rather than depending on wind kinetic energy.